La reconnaissance des acquis de l'expérience (Recognition, validation and accreditation of non-formal and informal learning, RVA) et les cadres nationaux de qualifications (National Qualification Frameworks, NQFs) ont été au coeur des discussions de trente expert(e)s du Nord et du Sud, réunis à Hambourg du 11 au 12 mars à la réunion “Linking Recognition Practices to Qualifications Frameworks: North-South Collaborative Research”, organisée par l'Institut de l'Unesco pour l'apprentissage tout au long de la vie et ses partenaires internationaux.

Communiqué en version originale anglaise :

Linking Recognition Practices to Qualifications Frameworks: North-South Collaborative Research

In collaboration with the Centre for Lifelong Learning Strategies (ECI) of INHolland University, the Netherlands, and in partnership with the French National Commission for UNESCO, the UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning held an international meeting on “Linking Recognition Practices to Qualifications Frameworks: North-South Collaborative Research” in Hamburg from 11 to 12 March 2010.

Its overall aim was to arrive at a better understanding of the policy and practice issues surrounding the recognition, validation and accreditation of non-formal and informal learning (RVA), and how these can be better integrated into qualifications frameworks in different national contexts. The meeting had two main objectives: 1) to review current practices and share examples, exploring different national and international developments; and 2) to discuss the research agenda for the future, focusing on institutional capacity-building and the establishment of a research network based on partnerships that would bring the North and South closer together.

The 30 participants included experts and officials from governmental organisations in 20 UNESCO Member States across the world regions. UIL’s Interagency Advisory Group was represented by the International Labour Organisation (ILO), the European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training (CEDEFOP), the European Training Foundation (ETF), the Norwegian Institute for Adult Learning (VOX), the Association for the Development of Education in Africa (ADEA) and the French National Commission for UNESCO. The inputs and discussions made very clear that RVA and National Qualification Frameworks (NQFs) are high on the political agenda and becoming a practical reality, not only in developed countries, but also in a growing number of developing and emerging economies. Such systems are developed with an eye to a future in which learning outcome-based national qualifications are expected to support much-needed reforms in education and training and facilitate nationally standardised and transparent, internationally comparable qualifications.

While the design of NQFs varies from country to country, participants indicated a clear need to a) link NQFs to explicit lifelong learning policies that recognise more diverse forms of learning, b) improve access to learning opportunities, particularly for those target groups most need of continuing education and retraining, and c) enable stronger links between the adult learning sector and the formal education and training system.

Even though countries from North and South differ greatly in terms of their features and contexts, it was generally agreed that collaborative research would assist in clarifying: a) the ways in which RVA can be supported by learning outcomes-based NQFs; b) how non-formal and informal learning was being compared to learning in formal settings; c) what “added value” RVA could offer; and d) how RVA, in the spirit of partnership with different stakeholders, could facilitate learning access and progression. Further discussions centred on clarifying the purpose of RVA, maintaining a balance between summative and formative assessment, making assessment reliable and valid, introducing appropriate legal and institutional frameworks, linking RVA to other related issues (e.g. guidance and counselling; credit accumulation and transfer), and determining what impact RVA and NFQs were having in real terms.

The discussion on how to implement the collaborative North-South research emphasised the importance of participation, both in peer learning activities and in nationally-organised stakeholder meetings. Activities like these will help in the production of 1) a handbook for general use by stakeholders and professionals in participating countries and 2) a set of guidelines on developing and implementing RVA-NQF linkages for policy-makers.

The meeting also succeeded in strengthening further the knowledge partnerships between the various regional and international agencies, and there are plans to pursue these further in future through the production of joint reports on NQFs and RVA with an international focus.

A summary of the meeting can be found on UIL’s website at: www.unesco.org/uil/

[Source : UIL Nexus, Vol. 5, No. 2 (April 2010)]